Valencia CF suffered a 1-0 away defeat to Mallorca during their LaLiga match at the Iberostar Stadium on Thursday. The home team took control in the second half and secured the win with a goal scored by Vedat Muriqi’s header.
Valencia CF began strongly, as they tried to take the lead early on. They their first opportunity in the 23rd minute when Javi Guerra delivered a cross into the penalty area, aiming for Hugo Duro.
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🦇🤏 𝐒𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 to the opener for @valenciacf_en!#LaLigaSantander #LaLigaHighlights pic.twitter.com/JvFBaJLRFT
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) May 25, 2023
Around the half-hour mark, Valencia CF came close to scoring. Samuel Lino crossed from the left, finding Diego Lopez in the six-yard box. Shooting from close range, Lopez nearly helped his side take the lead, but Mallorca goalkeeper Rajkovic cleared.
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In the 64th minute, RCD Mallorca broke the deadlock through a move from the left side. Former Valencia player Kang In Lee delivered a cross to Muriqi, who scored via a header.
Soon, Valencia manager Ruben Baraja brought on Justin Kluivert and Samu Castillejo. Then, Thierry Correia attempted to find Hugo Duro, but the latter’s contact was minimal, resulting in an easy save for Rajkovic.
Towards the end of the match, Andre Almeida took another shot. However, it was blocked by the Mallorca defence as the game ended 1-0 in favour of the home team.
Mallorca will play Barcelona while Valencia CF will meet Espanyol at Mestalla, on Sunday.
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Osasuna move seventh in standings
Meanwhile, Osasuna climbed to seventh place in the La Liga after a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao at the El Sadar Stadium. The team from Pamplona repeated their victory over Athletic, the same team they eliminated in the Copa del Rey semifinals. Both goals came in the second half, with Ante Budimir and Lucas Torro finding the back of the net.
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🧤 Aitor Fernandez keeping his @osasuna_en side ahead!#OsasunaAthletic #LaLigaSantander #LaLigaHighlights pic.twitter.com/if4XLsfosJ
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) May 25, 2023
In the 49th minute, Budimir scored via a header after receiving a cross from the right flank. Then, with just over 15 minutes remaining, Torro found the back of the net after an Aimar Oroz assist.
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Despite Athletic having more scoring opportunities than their opponents, their attempts were consistently denied by the home goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez. With this victory, Osasuna potentially have the opportunity to compete in next season’s Conference League.
